


3, 2, 1.

by heyitslee



Category: Primeval
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Cutter is the Dad Friend, Fluff, I'm Trying To Coin Beckle As This Ship's Name, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, help me out here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-10-19 00:35:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10628472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyitslee/pseuds/heyitslee
Summary: He was told he was lucky to have someone that was certain to love him not matter what, and that it was a privilege to have these numbers, as other people never know if they will find someone to love them unconditionally.Personally, he thought it was nice to have that security, but there was more to life than romance, like Tomb Raider III and getting a good degree.AKA the beckle soulmates AU that no one asked for but they got anyway





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was so fun to write, I adORE soulmate AUs. Thanks to my best friend for beta-ing, and I hope you enjoy!

Connor Temple was frequently told he was "lucky". Lucky to have glowing numbers along his forearm, slowly counting down to the exact time and date he would meet his "soulmate". It was seen as the most romantic thing in the universe; two people literally destined to be together. It was the plot of most soppy romances, though other than that it was a certain trait some people had, and others did not.

Numbers appeared on around 34% of the population, the ten o'clock news told him. He was told he was lucky to have someone that was certain to love him not matter what, and that it was a privilege to have these numbers, as other people never know if they will find someone to love them unconditionally.

Personally, he thought it was nice to have that security, but there was more to life than romance, like Tomb Raider III and getting a good degree.

Hilary Becker was frequently told all manner of things about his numbers. Some, like his father, told him that they made him weak, that however tough he might act, he'll have a soft spot for some pretty girl and that could put him and all his friends at risk out in the field (he never got round to telling them of his suspicion that his soulmate would not be a girl). Some, like his mother, told him to ignore the others, that having a soulmate was a lovely thing, and was indication of one's own personality or capability, and that the gender of his soulmate make no difference whatsoever.

The whole thing made him work harder to become impassive, unshakeable, and excellent at hiding his feelings. He couldn't hide from himself, however, the little skip his heart did as the number counting the years he had left finally reached 0.

It was a couple of weeks after his months had also halted that he moved from his position in the ranks under Captain Wilder to be a Captain himself in the ARC. He read his brief with disbelief (Dinosaurs? Really? Who did they take him for?) but nevertheless agreed. Another couple of weeks and a date was set for him to finally go into this mysterious "Anomaly Research Centre". It was not until 4 days before it that Becker noticed something.

It was the exact same day he was meant to meet his soulmate.

He pondered on the thought that maybe someone on this team was his soulmate. Then maybe his old colleagues had been right about his soulmate getting in the way of his job - no, he wouldn't let that happen. He was a professional.

He checked the time he was supposed to arrive at the ARC with the time his clock was set to stop. They seemed to be a few hours apart; maybe his soulmate was not part of the ARC team. He didn't know whether to be relieved or even more anxious at that. Not that he was very anxious, of course. Soldiers don't get anxious - or at least they don't show it.

Connor, on the other hand, was freaking the hell out. As his clock counted down to its final destination (he really did like those movies), his heart seemed to beat about 10 times between every second and the night before his days finally went to 0, he could hardly sleep. Abby was excited for him, teasing him endlessly about how it was like all those teen romance films, and how he was probably going to look like one of the love-struck teenagers when he first saw his soulmate.

After a day of work on the anomalies, however, he couldn't help but fall asleep with a little over 8 hours left.

"...is that clear?" Lester, Becker's new boss, finished.

"Crystal clear, sir." He flicked his sleeve up a little, enough to show that he had around half an hour left before meeting his soulmate. Lester noticed the action with a 'hmph'.

"Something wrong, Captain?" Becker looked up from his wrist, trying his best to keep his face straight.

"Nothing, sir." He said curtly. Lester gave him a suspicious look, but nodded and started to walk away, pausing after a couple of steps.

"Oh, by the way, Professor Cutter won't like you and will go out of his way to make your job as difficult as possible. Try not to take it personally." Lester gave him a grimace and stalked off to his office.

Becker had about 3 minutes to look around the main room of the ARC before a piercing alarm rang through the building before the machine in the centre started flashing, saying 'anomaly alert' in huge, red letters. Suspecting this meant the 'rips in time and space' that Lester was talking about, from which dinosaurs supposedly came through, he instantly sprang into action and called the men to order that were piling into the room.

A blonde man and a brunette woman walked in, the woman quickly introducing herself as Jenny Lewis with a smile as they walked to the car park, and gesturing to the blonde man as Professor Cutter. The professor turned at the sound of his name and caught sight of Becker, giving him a once-over before nodding curtly and stepping into his car.

They arrived at the British National Museum half an hour later, Becker getting increasingly conscious of his counter, it now being at 3 minutes. Cutter noticed him staring at his wrist and smiled knowingly.

"Something wrong, Captain?" Cutter said, echoing Lester's words from before in his thick Scottish accent. Becker looked up into piercing blue eyes; it felt the professor could see right through him.

"Nothing, sir." Becker repeated. There was something in Cutter that made Becker feel like he could trust him, but he didn't bother explaining; he had a feeling Cutter already knew exactly what it was.

"Alright, then. Connor and Abby are on their way, so let's go." Becker nodded and called the men to follow him.

  
Spluttering through salad as a prehistoric lizard tries to eat it off your face was definitely not the best way to wake up, Connor decided, especially at such an insane time at night. The quick check of his wrist to reveal that Connor had twenty minutes until he met his soulmate, however, got him racing around, dressed and ready in record time. Abby noticed him bouncing on his heels by the door and laughed.

"I wish you met your soulmate every day, then we wouldn't be late all the time. Even though this time the others are there already..." she trailed off, frowning at the clock. She turned to Connor and grinned.

"So, how long have we got?" she asked as she walked over to grab her jacket and keys. Connor checked his wrist, half-knowing the answer.

"About 15 minutes," he answered, practically shaking from excitement. Abby smiled as they walked through the door and she locked it behind her.  
"That's about how long it's going to take us to get to the museum. Come on!" They bundled into her Mini, Connor unable to keep his leg from bouncing up and down.

He was suddenly overcome with worries and doubts about his soulmate. What if he meets them in a car accident on the way? What if he meets them at the museum and they get killed by a creature, or lost through an anomaly?

He bit his lip and frowned, causing Abby to look at him. She reached over and patted his knee affectionately before returning her hand to the steering wheel.

"Pre-meeting nerves?" she asked with a tone of sisterly concern. Connor could only bring himself to nod, not trusting his voice.

"It'll be alright, Con. Chances are they're at the museum, so we'll protect them. I, at least, will not let anything happen to your soulmate. Okay?" He nodded again.

They pulled up with less than two minutes to spare. Connor vaulted out of the car and Abby joined him running to the museum, flashing their ID to the guards outside the entrance and picking up tranquilliser guns and torches.

As they got into the opening area of the museum, they noticed Cutter up ahead, walking behind a team of soldiers, one of them next to him. Abby called Cutter, causing him, Jenny and the soldier to turn round.

5.  
Connor felt his heart pick up, and looked at his wrist to see it counting down from 5. He looked up quickly, saw the three approaching and stole a glance at Abby.

4.  
Becker felt the same, and ignored it. Nothing could distract him from a mission. He looked between the two newcomers as Cutter introduced them as Abby Maitland and Connor Temple.

3.  
There was a sudden, intense itch on his wrist, and Becker pulled up his sleeve to catch his timer in its last three seconds.

2  
Connor looked up at the name "Captain Becker". That name was new. Was he-? He set eyes on the new soldier looking at his own wrist in shock.

1  
Becker finally looked up, searching between Abby and Connor,  barely registering what Cutter was saying.

0  
They made eye contact.

There was no big moment of revelation, or fireworks, or cherubs singing. There was no love at first sight, no dramatic running towards each other. There was just a funny little tug in their hearts, as if they knew what had happened and were just saying _"yeah, that's him. He's here. Go on, then, go to him."_

Connor started grinning and Becker couldn't stop himself joining in.

Cutter gave them an odd look, raised his eyebrows and started walking again. Jenny and Abby followed after giving them a knowing look, leaving Becker and Connor standing there staring at each other.

After an agonizing few seconds, Connor broke the silence.

"Well, at least I won't have to worry about keeping this secret from you. Or you getting killed, by the looks of it." Becker snorted, and stepped closer.

"Can't say the same for you. Guess I'll just have to be extra careful to protect you. Can't have some dinosaur taking away my soulmate," he said. Connor laughed outright at that, and Becker was struck by how much he wanted to hear it again. He stepped forward again, and wrapped an arm around Connor's waist. It fit perfectly, and Connor drew his arms up to rest on Becker's shoulders.

"I'd love to stay and chat, but there's an anomaly that needs finding and because we're never that lucky, a most-likely-carnivorous creature to catch," Connor said, making no move to let go. Becker ended up reluctantly stepping back and breaking their holds.

"Let's go get it then. But after we're finished we're going to do this meeting thing properly, ok?" Becker took a hold of Connor's hand as he started jogging forward to catch up with the others.

"Whatever you say, action man."


End file.
